Distributed computing systems are generally known in the art. However, known distributed computing systems typically divide a single large computing task into sub-tasks, and each participant in the distributed computing system performs or solves the sub-task that it was given. In addition, each distributed computer generally only works on its assigned sub-task when its processor or other resources necessary to the sub-task would otherwise be idle.
For example, one known distributed computing system is the Intel-United Devices Cancer Research Project sponsored by United Devices, Inc. of Austin, Tex. and Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. The Cancer Research Project allows PC owners to volunteer idle processor time on their own computers to help find a cure for cancer. Each user downloads a software client that periodically receives a research sub-task from a server, and performs the sub-task when the local computer processor would otherwise be idle. Upon completion of the sub-task, the local client sends the results to the server, and receives a new sub-task. At all times the local client is dependent on the central server that divides the task into sub-tasks and assigns sub-tasks to volunteer client machines. In addition, each client does not contribute to the computing space except that the client performs an assigned sub-task. That is, each client only executes sub-tasks defined by the server; because each client is not capable of executing any arbitrary application program
Another known pseudo-distributed computing space is demonstrated by online role-playing games such as Ultima Online®. In an online role-playing game (RPG), each remote user typically must log in to a central server that administers and oversees the game playing of the RPG. The virtual world in which characters live is defined by and maintained by the central server, and appears identical to each remote client (player characters) connected to that central server. In addition, all interaction between players goes through the central server. Thus, while online RPGs may be thought of as distributed computing environments, they are in reality large client-server applications.
The prior art may necessitate that a node (associated with a client or a peer) in a fully connected distributed system may need to know about addresses of every other node in the distributed computing environment or may need to know about a subset of the other nodes and about an associated network topology. In either case, the amount of information may be quite formidable with a large distributed computing environment.
Also, the need to know about every other node in the distributed computing environment may pose a security and privacy problem while necessitating an additional task of updating the node as the configuration of the distributed computing environment changes.
Thus, it would be an advancement in the art to provide a method or apparatus in which a node knows only about a subset of the other nodes in the distributed computing environment without the need to know about the network topology while the distributed computing environment maintains fully connected properties. It would be a further advancement in the art if the computing space provided both scalability and security.